1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage dispensing nozzles and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a beverage dispensing nozzle for dispensing multiple flavored drinks from a single nozzle without intermingling flavors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to increases in both the number of customers served and the volume of drinks dispensed by the food and drink service industry and counter space being at a premium, standard drink dispensing nozzles fail to meet customer demand. In order to reduce space requirements and also for aesthetic reasons, it is desirable to dispense multiple flavors of drinks from a single nozzle.
In dispensing drinks from a nozzle, it is essential that the flavored syrup be intimately mixed with a mixing fluid, such as carbonated or plain water, so that the resulting drink is of uniform consistency. When the mixing fluid is carbonated water, it is essential that the carbonated water and syrup be mixed in such a manner that the carbon dioxide does not excessively escape and produce undesirable foaming.
One major problem encountered with multiple flavor nozzles is syrup carryover. It is very difficult to completely remove the residual syrup from a previously dispensed drink to avoid carryover into a subsequent, different flavored drink. This carryover causes problems with the flavor, the color, and the smell of dispensed drinks. Even small amounts of carryover syrup which cause only minor problems with odor and taste have a significant effect on the color of clear drinks, which is undesirable.
Another problem that must be addressed is proper mixing of the mixing fluid, such as carbonated or plain water, and syrup. To insure proper mixing, it is necessary to expose the maximum surface area of the syrup to the mixing fluid. If the mixing is to occur outside the nozzle, it is important that the momentum of the syrup stream be substantially equal to or less than the momentum of the mixing fluid stream.
Excessive foaming is another problem when the mixing fluid is carbonated water. To prevent excessive foaming, the carbonated water, which enters the nozzle at a high pressure, must be gently reduced to atmospheric pressure so that a minimum of carbon dioxide will escape solution. At high flow rates, out-gassing of carbon dioxide is particularly troublesome. Consequently, as the carbonated water releases carbon dioxide in both the nozzle and the cup, the released carbon dioxide escaping solution causes excessive foaming of the dispensed beverage. That excessive foaming creates a poor product because the drink is generally xe2x80x9cflatxe2x80x9d.
Prior attempts to solve the aforementioned problems with multiple flavor nozzles have not been successful. In most instances, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,854, which issued on May 29, 1990, to McCann, the syrup is delivered to the nozzle exit through a separate tubular conduit for each flavor. The syrup flows through a plurality of separate conduits to a discharge opening into a water channel for delivery to the exit end of the nozzle. The total surface area of syrup presented for contact with the mixing fluid is relatively small; thus proper mixing is difficult. The configuration also makes it difficult to eliminate syrup carryover.
In accordance with the present invention, a beverage dispensing nozzle, includes a cap member having first, second, and third beverage syrup inlet ports coupled to first, second, and third beverage syrup sources and a mixing fluid inlet port coupled to a mixing fluid source. A first annulus, a second annulus, and a third annulus are each coupled with the cap member for discharging from the beverage dispensing nozzle via discharge channels a beverage syrup delivered from a respective first, second, and third beverage syrup inlet port. An outer housing is coupled to the cap member and defines a mixing fluid channel with the first annulus for discharging from the beverage dispensing nozzle a mixing fluid delivered from the mixing fluid inlet port, which is mixed with exiting beverage syrup.
The first annulus, the second annulus, and the third annulus each include a groove therein that receives beverage syrup from a respective first, second, and third beverage syrup inlet port and delivers the beverage syrup to the discharge channels. The cap member comprises a first, second, and third beverage syrup outlet port connected with a respective first, second, and third beverage syrup inlet port and a raised portion, wherein each raised portion fits within a respective groove to couple the first annulus, the second annulus, and the third annulus to the cap member and to communicate beverage syrup to the first annulus, the second annulus, and the third annulus. The cap member further includes a plurality of mixing fluid outlet channels connected to the mixing fluid inlet port and communicating with the mixing fluid channel for circumferentially delivering mixing fluid into the mixing fluid channel.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispensing nozzle that dispenses a beverage syrup and mixing fluid at a high volume flow to form a dispensed beverage drink.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispensing nozzle that eliminates stratification between the beverage syrup and mixing fluid.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispensing nozzle that is capable of dispensing multiple flavors while preventing carryover between different flavored syrups.
Still other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art in light of the following.